Family Venture
March 31, 2009 by alex0825
Last year my project Quezon was mostly a solo affair. This year though, things are shaping up to make it a real family venture.
Pam has gotten on to it, as she has accompanied me three times already and seems to have embraced the “vision” of developing the parcels of land in our name.
Just recently, it was Cae’s turn. I was very apprehensive to take her with me. Mauban, with its tedious 4-hour road trip, unpretentious rural conditions, and lack of urban highlights, might be too lifeless or boring for someone as “kikay” as her. The past few days were dreary with rains too, compounding the possibility that she might find the experience traumatizing. Indeed, who would want to wade through a muddy rice field in the rain?
But off we went, on a Thursday at that, because I had to pay our real estate taxes, a couple of which have been overdue for years. Cae and I wore jeans, anticipating bad weather. Fortunately, the sun was out during our whole stay there. It was my first time to handle tax payments. It was a breeze as the municipal workers were very courteous and accommodating; unlike in a few others I’ve gone to (and swore never to visit again). It also felt good to be handling these things myself, as I really want to be on top of matters concerning our properties in Mauban. Cae sat beside me at the desk of the employee who handled our transaction. When I told her with a slight smile that someday she’d be doing these dealings herself, she looked at the papers in my hand, nodded and smiled back. Positive enough.
Afterwards, while we headed back to the car, the sun still shone brightly, it was still mid afternoon, and I wanted to maximize our stay. I took her to my aunt’s Villa Celerina up in the hilly terrain past barrio Lual. Upon seeing that expanse, with its columns of coconut trees, evenly cut grass, and charming nipa huts, Cae’s words stirred my gladdened soul: “Wow daddy, when are we going to have something like this?”
And I said soon, soon. Our property in Barrio Bato, an hour’s walk away, was twice bigger than my aunt’s villa, and I have promised to start developing it this year. Even as Cae reveled in this rural beauty, my farmhand Rene was there deep in the hills of our land, cutting the overgrown vegetation to fully reveal its expanse.
My gladness comes from seeing a possible continuity, from bridging a generational gap (real or imagined), from being assured that, this early, Pam and Cae (and years later, Caehl!) are aboard this happy journey not so much to share in the costly burden but at least to inspire me to see it through (and take over should I falter – though that’s not an option!)
In my youth, I was blind and deaf and dumb to the beauty of this inheritance, right up to just a few years ago. I hope I’ve started to communicate its loveliness to Cae this early in her life, and ward her off from that sense of indifference that had taken hold of me and my brother, when we were growing up.
* * *
Don’t we all love posterity? Keping a legacy, continuity. This blog hits home, quite hard. As a young boy, I used to love the feel of the morning farm soil on my feet. I remember my late dad waking me up in the morning, cajoling me endlessly to join him in his eraly morning jog from our ancestral home to our family farm that stretches about a little less than 3 hectares, bounded by an almost unnoticeable creek with fresh, clear water kissing fresh, green grass. As I grew older, the farm visits became less and less frequent that when my dad decided to sell it, I felt practically nothing. It was only four years ago, when by chance, I set my sight on it again that a certain pain pierced through me. I tried very hard to buy it back but to no success. I managed to buy the space adjacent to it, but each time I see it, the pain becomes even more unbearable. Maybe because that piece of land reminds me of my dad, and God know how much I miss him! I haven’t seen the new piece of land I bought. Last time I heard of it, it apperas it’s the only vacant lot around it as the area has been developed as residential spaces. I had lots of offers but I refused to sell it. I have leased it to a Japanese company growing Okra for exports and they have developed it as their office/warehouse space. This year the lease ends. I want to keep the land, I want to develop it. For posterity, legacy, continuity….